Righteous Kill

R

Released Sep 12, 2008

1h 40m

Crime

Drama

List

18%

Tomatometer

149 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Detectives Thomas Cowan (Robert De Niro) and David Fisk (Al Pacino), 30-year veterans of the NYPD, investigate the murder of a pimp. The crime resembles a case they solved many years earlier. As the body count rises, they realize they're dealing with a vigilante taking over when the police fail. The similarities between past and present crimes leads the detectives to wonder if they put the wrong man behind bars.

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Critics Consensus

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro do their best to elevate this dowdy genre exercise, but even these two greats can't resuscitate the film's hackneyed script.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: B-

Feb 18, 2012

Full Review

Mark Holcomb

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Joshua Katzman

Chicago Reader

This thriller by Jon Avnet is mostly by the numbers, and its surprise ending, though effective, feels somewhat forced.

Dec 9, 2008

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Given the downright sloppiness of the storytelling and squashed hopes that De Niro and Pacino might electrify the screen again, Righteous Kill is hugely disappointing.

Rated: 1/4

Jun 5, 2024

Full Review

Emiliano Basile

EscribiendoCine

…the only thing these Oscar-ized actors are looking for is a paycheck. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/10

May 11, 2022

Full Review

Jason Best

What's On TV

De Niro and Pacino back together but firing blanks.

Nov 20, 2020

Full Review

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Jeffrey P

There's the making of a better movie here but this felt rushed and spotty, like it was trying to be too fresh and creative with the ‘bad cop, badder cop' routine but things become a bit more justified and make a bit more sense by the time the credits roll.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/25/24

Full Review

Dani G

From The Godfather, to Heat... to THIS THING?! C'mon Pacino! C'Mon De Niro! Lack of money, maybe?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/12/23

Full Review

Philip L

I get why the reviews were pretty bad..the obligatory gorgeous lady cop! But I love those two guys and would pay to watch them eat soup!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/12/23

Full Review

M R

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have Pacino and Deniro do a B Movie or straight to video release? This is it. It's ok. Not very rewatchable. Grade: 72/100 C-

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/26/23

Full Review

DRAFTAS

A let down.. did anyone read the script, just because you have a great cast doesn't mean you have a great film. A crime drama were who you think is doing the murders, is! was that meant to be a twist.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/21/23

Full Review

kenneth r

I was surprised how much I liked It after the poor reviews, seems like mass band wagon jumping. The story intriguing, the Direction very good, the acting excellent as you would expect, & the dialogue slick & cynical. The only disappointment was the ending, a bit too sudden & rushed. Ignore the critique & enjoy.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

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Jon Avnet

Director

Robert De Niro

Detective Thomas Cowan

Al Pacino

Detective David Fisk

50 Cent

Spider

Carla Gugino

Karen Kleisner

Donnie Wahlberg

Detective Riley

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Synopsis

Detectives Thomas Cowan (Robert De Niro) and David Fisk (Al Pacino), 30-year veterans of the NYPD, investigate the murder of a pimp. The crime resembles a case they solved many years earlier. As the body count rises, they realize they're dealing with a vigilante taking over when the police fail. The similarities between past and present crimes leads the detectives to wonder if they put the wrong man behind bars.

Director: Jon Avnet
Producer: Avi Lerner, Jon Avnet, Randall Emmett, Lati Grobman, Alexandra Milchan
Screenwriter: Russell Gewirtz
Distributor: Overture Films
Production Co: Emmett/Furla Films, Millennium Films
Rating: R (Pervasive Language|Brief Drug Use|Some Sexuality|Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 27, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $40.1M
Runtime: 1h 40m

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